Ever the Twain
by PhAnToM PhIrE and TYBA
Summary: Unless they destroyed Naraku, he would cause more destruction. Unless they ended his nightmare reign, another would be created. Unless they defeated Naraku, the hole in his hand would kill him… they just didn’t know so soon. [MirxSan]


Crap I almost forgot the author's note. \=) anyway, this is my second Mir/San fic, so yeah. . . I think towards the end my writing is sorta redundant but. . . who the hell cares? It's all fluff at the end so enjoy =]  
  
Disclaimer: ::sighs:: have you thick-headed numbskulls understood yet? Me- no-own. Good!  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Ever the Twain  
One-shot, Phantom Phire  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Sango hummed happily as she walked along the dirt road leading back to the village. She just saw Kagome off to her time and left a sulking hanyou to pout alone; Shippo was bothering Inuyasha, and the monk was off somewhere chasing skirts.  
  
The thought alone of the perverted priest made her snort and roll her eyes; she would never admit it, but it really bothered her when he went around pulling off his 'holy-charming-man' bullshit.  
  
Sango greeted Kirara as the little cat pranced up to her and hopped on her shoulder. Petting the ruby-eyed cat, she smiled as the kitty purred in satisfaction.  
  
So far, today was a good day.  
  
If only she knew what horror would happen later. . .  
  
If only. . .  
  
--*--  
  
When Sango reached the village, she plopped down into the hut with the fire- cat looked around for Kaede. The old miko wasn't in her hut right now, so she was all alone.  
  
Sango savored the quiet moments of solitude she rarely had these days. She could contemplate her life; and although really hectic currently, she found peace in her days of demon-slaying and priest-pounding.  
  
Involuntarily, she grinned and her thoughts shifted to the violet-eyed monk. As Kagome and Inuyasha started getting a little 'closer', or as Miroku defined it, she and Shippo found themselves having more and more time alone as the two 'escaped' to Kagome's time.  
  
Her feeling of great contentment lasted seconds few. The worries of her life returned full-force in rapid speed. She reminded herself the only goal in her life right now was to defeat Naraku. . .  
  
She had a strong feeling that part of the reason their group was so strongly bonded was because they founded common enemies in him. Naraku caused all of the pain and anger in all of their lives. . .  
  
Inuyasha was pressured with getting revenge for Kikyo, even though it looked like he was happy enough with Kagome. He had felt duty-bound to extract vengeance for himself as well and his pride would never let of it.  
  
Kagome had really not yet been affected by Naraku, but she helped with the rest of the group in her job to find the shikon no kakera and restore the jewel.  
  
Shippo really couldn't help so much in their everlasting -battle. But he still hung around; even though he had lost parents because of Naraku, he found new ones in Kagome and Inuyasha and a family in all of them.  
  
Miroku had to deal with the hell-hole in his hand and he needed to avenge his family's line that had died in the curse that Naraku placed.  
  
She herself needed revenge for all of her people and especially her father, the only one she had ever known. He was never very intimate nor affectionate, but he still cared for her and her brother in his own way.  
  
Her brother. . .  
  
The thought of her dearest little brother did not bother as much as used to.  
  
She had killed him. Killed him with her own hands.  
  
~F~L~A~S~H~B~A~C~K~  
  
"Sango?"  
  
At the sound of her name the young woman looked up warily at the approaching monk. "Don't you dare touch me, houshi-sama," she threatened,  
her hand touching the smooth sleek handle of her boomerang.  
  
The monk hastily moved away, but settled down on the river bank next to her, placing his golden staff on the long grass as well. The golden rings  
clanked together as he flopped down, somewhat clumsily but in his own 'grace'. "What's on your mind?" he asked cheerfully. "H-hey, believe it or not, that was an innocent question," he added as she again reached toward  
her boomerang of death.  
  
The scary frown on her face dissolved but only changed into a grim smile.  
"My brother," she answered softly.  
  
Miroku looked over at her with a raised eyebrow. "Care to enlighten me?"  
  
She glared at him menacingly but humored his wish anyway. "I'm worried,"  
she admitted, staring up in the brilliant blue sky where fluffy white clouds sailed on and on. "I mean, you'd be worried too if the last of your  
family was controlled by a evil demon. . ."  
  
"Go on. . ."  
  
"Well, I actually don't know what to do," she finally said after a long  
pause. "It hurts so much to see him this way. . . he used to be such a lively little boy, and now he's all cold and emotionless. I don't want to kill. I don't think I could. But I hate seeing him like that. . . And the  
thought that Naraku could take the shard out and kill him at any second  
scares me even more."  
  
"Well. . ." Miroku gazed up at the sky too, stopping short of whatever he  
was going to say and causing Sango to stare over in half-irritation.  
  
"Well what?"  
  
"Well, look at it this way," he began. "As far as I see it, you don't want your brother in that state, but the only way to remove it is to kill him,  
and you don't want that either."  
  
"Of course not!"  
  
"Sango," his unusually soft and gentle voice caught her off guard and she sat there, spellbound as he spoke. "Your brother died long ago. There is no  
real way to bring anyone to life again. Even if their body lives, their soul never will, or at least not the way before. Kohaku died in the castle where you were trapped, and though his body functions, his heart beats, he does not live again. That body that carries his appearance is not Kohaku, but a weak imitation of your brother. Naraku knows that your weak spot is your only little brother, and he uses that to his advantage. For a woman like you, you should have the sense to see that your real brother wouldn't want you to hesitate over such matters." The monk rose to his feet, still not daring to face Sango as he grabbed his staff. "I'll be off," he said  
briskly. "Think about what I said."  
  
She sat there for the rest of the day, staring into the flowing currents of  
the river, as the words echoed in her brain over and over. . .  
  
~E~N~D~F~L~A~S~H~B~A~C~K~  
  
With the decision made, she had chosen to destroy the illusion that held her brother's image. She had been more friendly to the monk since that day, but he never showed of change.  
  
It puzzled her, but she brushed it off.  
  
Suddenly, a loud explosion rocked the earth and she fell over, grasping the wooden floorboards as the tremor subsided. Her eyes dilated as she grabbed her boomerang and ran outside with Kirara at her side. "Kirara! Let's go!" at her command the small cat turned huge. She mounted the flaming lioness now and together they rode into the village.  
  
In the heart of the tiny town there was a ring of people watching in stupefied numbness as a ball of fiery light burned in the center, a human figure just visible between the dancing flames-  
  
Her eyes widened more, if possible, as she recognized the figure or Miroku, hand holding on with all his strength to the hell hole, gold staff tossed onto the grand farther away.  
  
"Miroku~!" She let out a strangled cry, dismounted Kirara and commanded her to stay there. Dropping her boomerang to the floor, she knocked people out of the way as she pushed them out of the way as she rushed to get the center of the village.  
  
"Good people, for you sake, GET BACK!!" The monk yelled over the roaring light as the dark black-purple void began spinning out of control. The villagers finally broke out of their  
  
Miroku felt wave after wave of fiery pain through his body; doggedly he held on, held on for the sake of the living in the village, held on for the friends and companions he was blessed with. He knew he was going to die. It would only be a bit until the screaming winds consumed his own body, and then his family line would wiped out forever. . .  
  
He gasped as he felt another arm grasps onto the arm with the hell hole, the other circling his waist. He twisted half way to see the person and his mouth dropped open as he gazed on Sango. "Sango?! What the-Get out of here, fast!!"  
  
"NO!" The girl held on stubbornly as her eyes snapped angrily. "You think I'm gonna desert you now?!"  
  
"But you're going to die!"  
  
"I don't care!"  
  
"I do! Please, I'm begging you Sango, please get away from here!"  
  
"Didn't you hear me the first time?! I don't care! I'll die with you!!" There were tears running down her face as the two struggled with his violently shaking arm. "It took me a long time, but I finally know how I feel! And I'm never leaving your side!"  
  
It had taken her so long to realize what was in front of her all along. Kagome had teased her many times about how it obvious the monk liked her and she liked him; but she never believe it, or rather, was never to believe. The doubt and worry about her family and friends had so clouded her mind she blind to her own feelings, yet so observant of everyone else's. She had never paid attention to the moves Miroku made on her, just passed them off as the same treatment ever pretty girl from ages sixteen to thirty got. She had always wondered who her true love would be, when it flashing right under her nose the whole time.  
  
"Sango! I don't care if I die if you live! Now get the hell out of here!"  
  
"Don't you get it yet you dumb-ass monk?! I love you. That's all that is to it! I know how long it's taken me to realize that, and now that I finally do, I don't care what I have to do as long as I can stay with you!!" She rested her head on his shoulder and silently he let her stay. Everything in his mind screamed at him to make her leave, to flee, to leave her all alone, but in his heart he wanted to be with this girl he loved forever, and this hell-hole in his hand now bound them together.  
  
They were so alike and yet so different; both there to comfort friends and offer advice, both feeling more for others than themselves. They both had problems but kept their silence in hope to make others feel better, and they both the shared the role of the very last in their family line and lifestyle.  
  
A gigantic roar ripped through the air as the ground shook again; the hell- hole was swirling insanely through the air, devouring everything that came within a five foot radius of it. Fear gripped both their hearts, but neither let go.  
  
They were in this together.  
  
The hole in his palm was almost covering his entire hand now; with another fierce howl the shrieking winds started moving up his arm. He clenched his teeth as more sweat poured down their faces; there was no turning back.  
  
The purple-black winds consumed his arm and hers; it was excruciating pain for her. She winced, almost screamed, but never let go. ~Is there an afterlife?~ she thought haphazardly as the carnivorous light continued sucking up their bodies.  
  
The pain was numb to her now, only the thoughts remained in her head-she would die and she wouldn't care. The demon slayers would vanish from the earth forever, but she would always be with Miroku in spirit and soul.  
  
Now her vision blacked out, but somehow she could still see. The reality seemed so surreal now. Her whole had flashed before her eyes, and now that it had finished their was nothing. It was like the edges of the world were slowly fading. The winds stilled, the air cleared, but this was not the real world. They were in a deep sleep, one people never woke up from.  
  
She felt a tiny bit of guilt for leaving behind Kirara, Kagome, Inuyasha, Shippo, her duties behind, but that bit ebbed away, her memory clearing, and now her mind felt free and clear, no longer worrying about duties she carried in life.  
  
It was only her and Miroku, floating together in a dimension all their own. And as he turned around, she whispered to him, "You never answered me."  
  
He smiled, gentle smile that for once held no perverted comments, hugged her tight in his arms. "Is this going to be enough of an answer for you?" he whispered back. Before she realized what he was talking about at all, he kissed her softly.  
  
Time stood still when she responded, and for a few seconds there was no time, no space, no nothing, just her and him. They broke apart and she rested her head on his chest as he hugged her tighter.  
  
Eternity was theirs; an endless stream of seconds, hours, years blending together, melding into one form.  
  
It mattered not what plane they existed on anymore, land of living; heaven or hell; they had their own dream to share together.  
  
"Yeah, I'd say that's a good enough answer," she giggled before they shared another kiss.  
  
They would always be together. . .  
  
Always the two of them.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*The end.~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
I'm done! =D Now I feel good. If you guys still don't understand the title, look up the word 'Twain' in the dictionary. Then you'll get it. -_-||||||  
  
That's all I have to say, I also updated my other story, Cruel to be Kind, so please check that out. =)  
  
~Phantom Phire 


End file.
